Miso Soup

[merrybaker]

Kris, I’m reporting back on the soup. I was a little squeamish at first -- with all those fish in the pan of water, it looked like cooking an aquarium! But it came out VERY tasty, though next time (tomorrow?) I’ll try a darker miso. Mine sure didn’t look as nice as yours -- everything fell to the bottom of the bowl, and it looked kind of naked. Maybe I had too much broth. But the flavor was great. And it was almost as easy as dashi granules, which, of course, I would never consider using. I’m so glad you started this thread. I hope everyone will keep adding their ideas to it.

Also, since I bought a lifetime supply of dried sardines, I tried making tazukuri. Not a big success. I either overcooked them, or undercooked them, and they stuck together in one big lump. I didn’t say anything, so my husband thinks that’s how they’re supposed to be! But I did discover that just heating the plain sardines in a skillet makes them very crunchy and delicious, and would make a great nibble with beer. I’ll have to buy another lifetime supply.

[torakris]

Also, since I bought a lifetime supply of dried sardines, I tried making tazukuri.  Not a big success.  I either overcooked them, or undercooked them, and they stuck together in one big lump.  I didn’t say anything, so my husband thinks that’s how they’re supposed to be!  But I did discover that just heating the plain sardines in a skillet makes them very crunchy and delicious, and would make a great nibble with beer.  I’ll have to buy another lifetime supply.

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Actually I have never eaten tazukuri that weren't all clumped together.

I think you did it just fine.

Next time you pan fry the niboshi add some slivered almonds and either a splash of soy or salt, I make this sometimes and my husband and kids love it!

EDIT there is also a great recipe (with pictures) by melonpan for using these fish in a Korean style stirfry:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...ndpost&p=746149

Edited January 5, 2005 by torakris (log)

[merrybaker]

Mmm, almonds sound good. Like Trout Amandine.

The stirfry pictures looks fantastic. Also, I found a reference to Korean fried sardines with ginger, garlic, and chili paste. Melonpan, does that sound familiar?

[helenjp]

Sons1 and 2 made dinner tonight. Their miso soup was an iriko dashi-sachet (the teabag type), simmered with shredded aburage (fried tofu) and hakusai heart (Chinese cabbage). To finish, they added some briefly soaked wakame, and a medium-salty brown miso.

Yum!

[Akiko]

EDIT there is also a great recipe (with pictures) by melonpan for using these fish in a Korean style stirfry:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...ndpost&p=746149

Okay, wait a minute. We're talking about Niboshi here which I've always thought were Dried Sardines? And that link is for Anchovies...

Sardines and Anchovies... two different fish, yes? Or am I being completely stupid and Anchovies are actually a form of Sardine?

Not that you couldn't use that recipe for all kinds of dried fish... I'm just curious about the differences between sardines and anchovies.

[merrybaker]

We're talking about Niboshi here which I've always thought were Dried Sardines?  And that link is for Anchovies...

Sardines and Anchovies... two different fish, yes? 

I don't know what I'm talking about, but that never stopped me from answering before! When I was researching dried sardines, I read that the name is often translated as dried anchovies. Sure enough, when I went to the store, I found dried anchovies. Whether they are really anchovies or sardines, I'll never know.

[torakris]

EDIT there is also a great recipe (with pictures) by melonpan for using these fish in a Korean style stirfry:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...ndpost&p=746149

Okay, wait a minute. We're talking about Niboshi here which I've always thought were Dried Sardines? And that link is for Anchovies...

Sardines and Anchovies... two different fish, yes? Or am I being completely stupid and Anchovies are actually a form of Sardine?

Not that you couldn't use that recipe for all kinds of dried fish... I'm just curious about the differences between sardines and anchovies.

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Akiko,

we went over them in the Daily Nihongo, starting with this post:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...ndpost&p=781720

In Japan there are three main kinds of iwashi (sardines), one of them, the katakuchi iwashi, is referred to as anchovy in English. All 3 of the iwashi can be dried in their young form and though in Japanese they are collectively referred to as niboshi when the names get translated to English you will see either sardine or anchovy depending on which type of fish was used. The same thing goes for shirasu/chirimen (tiny young iwashi), in English you sometimes see them called sardines and sometimes anchovies, but in Japan they are all just baby iwashi....

[Akiko]

Thanks,

I had no idea what I grew up eating could have been two different fish called by the same name.

I'm going to have to get a bunch and see if there is a difference in taste

[tissue]

My favorite ways of eating miso soup is cooked with the shrimp heads of my amaebi sushi. Such a clear sweetness.

[torakris]

My favorite ways of eating miso soup is cooked with the shrimp heads of my amaebi sushi. Such a clear sweetness.

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tissue,

that sounds incredible!

I am definitely going to try that next time.

[torakris]

Last night

mizuna stems (I used the leaf part in the donburi a couple days ago) and tofu, the tofu seems to have sunk...

[torakris]

I didn't have too much in the way of vegetables last night and I really wanted to make a miso soup, sooo....

onions and nori (laver)-- the kind used for rolling sushi

I "crisped up" the nori by waving it over a gas flame, then crumbled it into the soup

My miso soup hating husband loved this version and requested I make it again.

I really love onions in miso soup....

[edsel]

Kristin, I've never had nori in soup. Do you think that toasting the nori contributed to flavor, or did you just do that to make it easier to crumble? I imagine that it softened very quickly in the soup.

Certainly looks yummy - nice improvising.

[torakris]

Kristin, I've never had nori in soup. Do you think that toasting the nori contributed to flavor, or did you just do that to make it easier to crumble? I imagine that it softened very quickly in the soup.

Certainly looks yummy - nice improvising.

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I crisped it so it would be easier to crumble, but I think it also did help the flavor and help it to hold its shape. I was worried that it would sort of melt into the soup, but it didn't at all. Just to be on the safe side I added it just before I served it but it was fine, even held up overnight and reheated again for my husband's bento this morning.

I definitely reccomend it.

[torakris]

last night

satsumage (deep fried fish cake) and mizuna stems-- left over from when I used the leaves in a salad...

[Tepee]

So many interesting ideas for miso in this thread.

This is one of the places I get my organic stuff. I'm running out of the red miso and am thinking of replenishing. What's the difference between the light yellow miso and the red one (next page)? I tried asking them but it drew a blank.

Also, is there different methods for cooking hijiki, kombu and wakame? Or can they be used interchangeably? Right now, I have only bought the wakame and I only use it to sprinkle on rice gruel or use in fried rice.

Tks.

[torakris]

So many interesting ideas for miso in this thread.

This is one of the places I get my organic stuff. I'm running out of the red miso and am thinking of replenishing. What's the difference between the light yellow miso and the red one (next page)? I tried asking them but it drew a blank.

Also, is there different methods for cooking hijiki, kombu and wakame? Or can they be used interchangeably? Right now, I have only bought the wakame and I only use it to sprinkle on rice gruel or use in fried rice.

Tks.

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In general the darker the miso the salter and stronger tasting it is, the lighter ones are sweeter and less salty. Though there are exceptions!

as for what to do with the seaweeds, check out the seaweed thread

[Hiroyuki]

I hate what you refer to as light yellow miso (shiro miso) because it's too sweet for me. I only have Echigo miso (red type) in my house. I used to be a great lover of Shinshu miso (red type too) because that's what I grew up with; my father comes from Shinshu and my grandmother used to make a tub of Shinshu miso for us every year.

I don't use much kombu except shio kombu (see picture below), tororo kombu (put in clear soup) and kiri kombu (simmered with other ingredients). I think people in Kansai (western Japan) make more use of kombu to make dashi than Kanto (eastern Japan) people. I usually simmer hijiki with aburaage, carrots, and uchi mame (beaten soy beans), and I also put it in salad. As for wakame, I usually put dry wakame in miso soup, together with tofu, and I also rehydrate and put it in salad.

The dish in the photo is a leftover from last night's dinner. It's boiled cabbage mixed with shio kombu.

The miso shown is the Echigo miso that I currently use.

[merrybaker]

This is one of the places I get my organic stuff. I'm running out of the red miso and am thinking of replenishing. What's the difference between the light yellow miso and the red one (next page)?

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Hi, Tepee. That's the brand of miso I use, too. Their light yellow miso is exactly the color of peanut butter and looks like the Echigo miso in Hiroyuki's photo! Their red miso (aka miso) is the color of, um, hazelnut skins. I went around the kitchen trying to find a close match, and that's all I could find. It's not as dark as chocolate chips but has a chocolatey look to it. It has a "meaty" flavor, and I like to use equal parts of the two in miso soup. It's also good alone in soup, especially in cold weather.

Their website gives more information:

http://www.coldmountainmiso.com/coldmount.html#Japanese

-Mary

[Hiroyuki]

[Their light yellow miso is exactly the color of peanut butter and looks like the Echigo miso in Hiroyuki's photo!

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Sorry, merrybaker, I must have confused you. It's hard to make out from the picture, but the label on the miso pack says "Shiro miso". That's right! It's shiro miso. But it is Echigo miso and it's not sweet, unlike other regular shiro misos. The taste is just like that of red miso. I usually buy a darker Echigo miso, but it happened to be sold out when I when shopping the other day.

[merrybaker]

Sorry, merrybaker, I must have confused you.

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I's easy to confuse me! But now I understand.

[Hiroyuki]

Yesterday, I bought 400 g of domestic asari (short-necked clams) for 100 yen per 100 g (400 yen in total).

I made asari miso soup.

Do you know how to increase the umami of asari? Just leave them in a colander without water for three hours after you do 'suna nuki'. (Suna nuki refers to causing the clams to spit out the sand inside by soaking them in water with a salt content of about 3% (salt concentration of seawater) for five to six hours or overnight.) The main umami component of asari is kohaku san (succinate?), and putting stress on asari causes them to develop more kohaku san. I want to try this method, but always fail to do so. This morning, I left them without water for only half an hour. Does anyone care to try it?

One caution: If you spot any dead clams (open ones) after leaving them for three hours, remove them. Don't eat!

[helenjp]

Fundokin Miso "Kyushu-sodachi-mugi" is my recent favorite. Maybe spring just calls out for lighter misos?

I found an extra thick type of salted wakame, and since then, every night has been wakame miso soup night! . It's just too good to pass by!

Another favorite that gets revived at this time of year is okra (barely cooked chunks, not finely chopped) and new potatoes in miso soup.

Those asari look good...

[Hiroyuki]

[Their light yellow miso is exactly the color of peanut butter and looks like the Echigo miso in Hiroyuki's photo!

←

Sorry, merrybaker, I must have confused you. It's hard to make out from the picture, but the label on the miso pack says "Shiro miso". That's right! It's shiro miso. But it is Echigo miso and it's not sweet, unlike other regular shiro misos. The taste is just like that of red miso. I usually buy a darker Echigo miso, but it happened to be sold out when I when shopping the other day.

←

I was wrong. The shiro (white) miso was sweeter than regular Echigo miso.

I have developed quite a liking for this shiro miso. So, I bought another pack the other day.

Right: Typical aka (red) miso

Left: Niigata shiro (white) miso

[torakris]

tonjiru

miso soup with pork and various vegetables

I used just what was in the house that day, gobo, daikon, negi (Japanese bunching onion) and aburage (tofu pockets).

Once in my bowl I seasoned it with shichimi (seven spice mix).